Understanding the Life Cycle of Cytauxzoon felis: A Severe and Fatal Protozoan Infection in Domestic Cats

Describe the life cycle of cytauxzoon felis

Cytauxzoon felis is a protozoan parasite that causes a severe and often fatal disease called cytauxzoonosis in domestic cats

Cytauxzoon felis is a protozoan parasite that causes a severe and often fatal disease called cytauxzoonosis in domestic cats. The life cycle of Cytauxzoon felis involves two key hosts – the tick and the cat.

1. Tick stage: The life cycle begins when a tick, typically of the genus Amblyomma, acquires the parasite by feeding on an infected wild bobcat or other wild felid. During the blood meal, tick larvae or nymphs become infected with the protozoan parasites present in the cat’s bloodstream. The parasites transform into sporozoites within the tick’s gut.

2. Transmission to domestic cats: When an infected tick, carrying sporozoites, bites a domestic cat, it introduces the parasites into the cat’s bloodstream. The sporozoites invade the cat’s red blood cells.

3. Asexual replication in the cat: Inside the red blood cells, the sporozoites rapidly multiply through a process called schizogony. This asexual replication results in the release of numerous merozoites, which go on to infect more red blood cells.

4. The development of piroplasms and transmission to ticks: Some of the merozoites differentiate into piroplasms, which are the infective stages for ticks. Piroplasms can be found within the cat’s red blood cells. When a tick feeds on an infected cat, it ingests the piroplasms along with the blood meal.

5. Sexual replication in ticks: Within the tick’s gut, the piroplasms transform into gametocytes, the sexual stages of the parasite. These gametocytes differentiate into male and female gametes, which fuse to form a zygote. The zygote develops into a motile stage called a kinete.

6. Migration and development in the tick: The kinete migrates to the tick’s salivary glands, where it develops and undergoes several divisions to produce sporozoites. The sporozoites are then ready to be transmitted to a new host during the tick’s next feeding.

The life cycle of Cytauxzoon felis is completed when an infected tick feeds on a new host, typically a domestic cat, thereby transmitting the sporozoites to continue the cycle. The disease caused by this parasite can be severe in domestic cats, leading to damage of the liver, spleen, bone marrow, and other organs, often resulting in death.

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